


How To Go On A Date: Lannister Edition

by Jen27ny



Series: A Lannister Life Guide [2]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Police, F/M, First Date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-19
Updated: 2015-03-31
Packaged: 2018-03-18 15:30:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3574655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jen27ny/pseuds/Jen27ny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jaime and Brienne go on a date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, 
> 
> this is the sequel to [How To Crush A Date: Lannister Edition](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2836211). If you haven't read it yet, I suggest you do it before you read this one. It wouldn't make any sense otherwise. 
> 
> Again, my wonderful beta was [josiepug](http://archiveofourown.org/users/josiepug/pseuds/josiepug)!
> 
> Thanks for anyone who sent me date-ideas, I tried to include them all! Strangely, it was my younger brother who gave me the right idea by accident. 
> 
> [Photoset](http://jen27ny.tumblr.com/post/114055823602/how-to-go-on-a-date-lannister-edition-chapter-1)
> 
> All characters belong to GRRM.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Margaery, stop it.“

“C'mon! Someone has to be at least a bit excited, and if you're not going to be, then I have to do the work. Oh, what about a sunset cruise around Blackwater Bay with dinner?“

For a second, Brienne tried to picture she and Jaime in a dining hall on one of those overly expensive ships, the sun setting behind a window which covered a whole wall. Jaime wore a dark suit – without a tie, and the first buttons of his shirt were open – and he looked absolutely stunning, an easy smile on his lips, making one joke after the other. Brienne … didn't look quite so good. In her head, she looked even more out of place than ever, in an ill-fitting dress and a ridiculous hairstyle, too nervous and uncomfortable to say anything or even swallow a single bite. It would be terrible. Besides, she knew that Jaime wouldn't like something like that. Ever since he had the big fight with his father and sister, he avoided anything too _Lannister_. 

Quickly, she shook her head. “I don't think so.“

“You're spoiling all the fun,” Margaery sighed, but kept her eyes on the screen. Half an hour ago, she had started to look up date ideas on Pinterest. That had been a mistake. It was unbelievable how creative some people were. Brienne had heard the most romantic, cheesiest, corniest and utterly ridiculous ideas in her whole life. A part of her wanted all of those ideas – and the other part knew that she would either look way too awkward, or that Jaime would hate all of it. 

“I am not. It's just not …” Brienne stopped to find the right words. _Extraordinary enough? Fun enough? Relaxed enough? Embarrassing enough?_ None of those words seemed to fit. “It's just not Jaime-ish.”

“I don't know. It sounds exactly like something a Lannister would do. Probably booking the whole cruise for it, too.”

“I said Jaime-ish, not Lannister-ish.” Margaery was right. His family would have loved the idea. Cersei would have demanded nothing less than the best, just like their father, Tywin. Tyrion's intention might be a bit more romantic, like showing his date how much she meant to him by booking a whole cruise. But Jaime wasn't like that. 

“Maybe you're right,” she said and shrugged, before starting to scroll again, and thus forgetting that Brienne was even in the room. 

Brienne stopped pacing around and sat down, trying to calm her racing heart. Margaery had – once again – taken over the job of styling her hair and doing her make-up. It was more subtle than it had been on Hyle's date, though her clothes were pretty similar. Apparently Jaime had talked to Margaery – but maybe she just made that up, Brienne could never tell when she was joking about a make over –, saying that she needed to wear something comfortable. Nevertheless Brienne thought that this was all unnecessary. Jaime had made a joke, nothing more. 

How could he seriously want to go on a date with her? 

**********

_Brienne couldn't even decide which part of her body hurt most. Maybe it were her ribs. Zollo had gotten the chance to hit her before she could handcuff him. Maybe her head. She had hit it against the ground as she tackled the Goat. Then there was her ankle, her hand, and so much more … even the tip of her nose seemed to hurt! However, she hardly cared about any of it. Pride and satisfaction made her feel like she was flying, completely forgetting her pain._

_They had finally caught the Bloody Mummers. After all those months, they got them._

_It had been the worst chaos Brienne had ever seen. The Bloody Mummers didn't go down without a fight. Instead they wanted to take everyone down with them. It had been quick, but brutal. Bronn had been shot in the shoulder, and Jaime had insisted that Brienne goes to the hospital for a check-up right away. Her only condition had been that he would get a check-up, too. He held his arm in an awkward angle, there was a rather deep cut on his face, and he hissed every time he leaned over._

_The ER of the Citadel, King's Landing's biggest and best hospital, was crowded, and neither their cop status nor Jaime's last name could get them the next free spot. Especially not with the woman who had a knife stabbed through her hand, or the man who had had an accident with a chainsaw._

_“Who would use a chainsaw at night?” Jaime asked under his breath, but Brienne just hit him in the ribs. They spent the next three hours waiting until they were called to see Dr Pycelle._

_It turned out that neither of them was hurt too seriously, and they should just take it slow for the next few days. They got a few painkillers – just in case –, and Jaime got a bandage on his cut, before they left to get back to the station. No doubt someone would have already started to question the Mummers, and neither of them wanted to miss another second of it._

_They were both disappointed when their superior, Captain Barristan Selmy, told them they weren't allowed to question them since they hadn't been an official part of the operation. Loras Tyrell would take over that job – Bronn was still in the hospital after surgery to remove the bullet – together with Captain Brynden Tully, also called the Blackfish, who would arrive in the morning from Riverrun. The Bloody Mummers had terrorized the Riverlands for a long time, and the Blackfish had sworn to bring them down._

_Before Jaime could start to curse or scream at their boss, Brienne quickly shut him up with a pointed glare. Captain Selmy just gave them a funny – or maybe annoyed – look, before allowing them to watch the questioning from the surveillance room._

_They settled down, watching Loras, who did well, but Jaime was way too jealous to admit it, and Brienne was too tired to argue. After half an hour, she got a call from her father. At once she felt guilty, and quickly stepped outside to take the call. Like she expected, Selwyn Tarth was freaking out. Apparently the news channels had already caught up with what had happened in King's Landing, and showed some footage. Brienne couldn't remember seeing any reporters around the crime scene, but then she had been in such a rush that she had barely noticed anything other than the Bloody Mummers._

_It took her quite a while to assure her father that, yes, she was fine, and, yes, she had been in the hospital, no, she wasn't seriously hurt. Yes, she was very happy that they finally caught them. No, she didn't know what would happen yet. Yes, she was really fine. As he told her how proud he was of his_ little girl _, Brienne felt like crying._

_It took him one question to make her go from feeling happy and proud to embarrassed and somewhat annoyed. Of course he would ask about her date with Hyle. Stuttering she told him almost the truth: she got a call and had to leave. She just left out that Jaime was there as well. As he asked if they would go out again, she said she didn't know yet, and ended the call quickly. Brienne still hadn't had the heart to tell her father the whole truth about Hyle. Knowing him, he would probably react similarly to Jaime, and offer to punch him in the face._

_On a second thought, maybe she should tell him the truth._

_When Brienne returned to the surveillance room, she brought some coffee for Jaime and herself. It was pretty late, and slowly the fatigue started to creep into her bones. Jaime was the only one in the room, still looking pretty grumpy. A quick glance through the window told Brienne that Loras hadn't had any success yet._

_“I would have gotten a confession from him ages ago,” Jaime said without looking at her._

_“I know.” From experiences she knew that it was sometimes best to just agree with him. And it wasn't like he was wrong. Loras was good, but Jaime was better. “Here.” She handed him his usual cup and sat down next to him._

_“I thought we agreed on talking about setting a date for our coffee after tonight,” he said casually as he took a sip of coffee. Brienne almost choked on hers. “See how it all works out and that stuff, wasn't that what you said? No need to rush it.”_

_“What?” she stuttered, her face bright red and her hands sweaty._

_“The coffee,” Jaime said, like it was the most obvious thing. “You were the one who said we should set the date after we know how the things turned out.”_

_Totally speechless, Brienne watched him taking another sip. She couldn't read the impression he wore, and she had no idea if he was joking or not. Back in the car – and it seemed an eternity ago – she had just gave him the quickest answer with the most options. She thought she could think it through at a later point._

_Apparently, she had missed that point._

_Jaime still gave no hint if was being serious or not. A part of her thought it had just been the worked up testosterone in him. Maybe he needed to prove a point by asking Brienne out after she ditched some other guy. Was that a guy thing? Or did he have some other motives?_

_Some of her thoughts must have shown on her face, because Jaime cocked his head to the side and smiled a knowing smile. Then again he always said he could read her like an open book. “Or do you fear I might change my mind? Don't worry about that.”_

_“What?” Brienne just echoed again._

_“What's not to understand about that? Or did you hit your head harder than you thought? Should we go back to the hospital?” For a second, he looked pretty concerned, but Brienne quickly shook her head._

_“No, I just mean - … I don't understand. What do you mean?”_

_“I'm talking about our date.”_

_“Our date?”_

_“I asked you about coffee, back in the car. You said yes, but also said we should decide on a date after we dealt with the Mummers business. Then you turned up with the coffee.” To emphasize it, he almost shoved his mug up her nose. “So, does that mean you want to have the date right now?”_

_“I didn't mean to - … I mean, I -” Her skin felt like it was on fire, and she was certain that this was the worst blush she had ever had._

_“Gods, Giant,” Jaime sighed, but he seemed more amused than annoyed. “It was a joke. No need to take it that seriously.”_

_As Brienne exhaled – and she hadn't even noticed that she had been holding her breath – she had to confess that a part of her was pretty disappointed. Of course it had been a joke. How could someone like Jaime want to go out with her? That would never happen. It was basically one of those unwritten rules. Why did she get her hopes up? Why did she let her heart beat so quickly? That had been stupid. However the other part of her wished it hadn't been a joke._

_“But since we're already talking about it,” Jaime's voice brought Brienne back to reality, and slowly he moved his gaze from Loras to her. “When are you free?”_

_“What?”_

_“Seriously, is that some kind of joke or prank, or did you really hit your head too hard?” Now he definitely looked annoyed. “I asked when you have some spare time.”_

_“Why?”_

“For our date.” He didn't need to say duh _, but somehow he managed to pull an expression that just said the same._

_“You just said it was a joke.”_

_“Sometimes you're really trying your best to be as stupid as you look, don't you?” Before Brienne could even form a reply to his insult, Jaime set down his cup and turned around to her, before taking her cup and sat it next to his. Loras and the Goat seemed to be forgotten, and Brienne found Jaime's gaze too intense to feel comfortable. Yet she couldn't look away either. “The we-are-having-the-date-now-thing was a joke. Not my actual offer.”_

_“Wha-”_

_“Don't you dare to finish that word.” Quickly, Brienne shut her mouth again. For a second Jaime just looked at her before he took a deep breath and continued. “I don't know what's going on in your head, but let me make this clear: I want to go on a date with you. Whether it is to get some coffee or do something else, I don't care.”_

_“But why?”_

_“Why what?”_

_“Why do you want to go out with me?”_

_“Isn't that obvious?”_

_No, it wasn't. At least not to her. She had had experiences with guys who wanted to date her, and they had turned out badly. And now Jaime had asked her out. Jaime, who looked like he deserved a beautiful, delicate wife who had a successful career while taking care of two talented, cute children, cooking an entire five course meal, and cleaning the house without even breaking a sweat. Not someone who looked hideous in anything designed for women. Not someone who blushed as soon as you started talking to her. Not someone who was taller and bigger than Jaime. Simply not her._

_There was no doubt that Brienne was attracted to Jaime. She had been from the start, and, honestly, how could you not be? He was gorgeous. After she learned to look past his sharp tongue and his bad reputation to see the man that he really was, her simple attraction to him turned into something much, much stronger. Though she tried to deny it – and still was – that didn't let the feelings disappear._

_“You don't think I'm serious.” Brienne snapped out of her thoughts to look at him. It surprised her that he looked hurt. It hadn't been a question, so she offered no answer. Jaime opened his mouth to say something, but stopped to think about it again. Brienne had to fight the urge to just flee out of the room._

_She knew Jaime was nothing like Hyle and the other guys who made the bet about her, and it really hurt her that he obviously knew that she even considered that he would do something like that. But there was still that voice, whispering into her ear that no man would seriously be attracted to her in any way. She was too ugly, too freakish. If she couldn't pretend it was a joke, then she couldn't protect her heart to not get hurt again._

_Brienne had expected Jaime to get angry, and to tell her exactly why he wasn't like the guys back in Highgarden. However, he didn't say a long monologue. Instead he leaned back into the chair and crossed his arms. “Alright. Let me prove it.”_

_“You want to prove what?” she asked, after he didn't explain anything else._

_“Let me prove that I am serious. I'm nothing like Hunt or those other assholes, and I could give you a million reasons. But I know that some part of you will still doubt me, because you tell me often enough how much shit I talk.” He grinned and she couldn't help but roll her eyes at that. Not that he was lying, she did tell him at least twice a day. “So I will prove it to you. Deeds are better than words.”_

_“Jaime,” Brienne sighed, not quite sure if she could find the right words. The idea of a date with him was so tempting, so enjoyable, almost too good to be true. But he was right: some part of her would still doubt him._

_“Just one date,” he said and it almost sounded like a plea. Or maybe a dare. “One date to give me a chance. And if you still think I'm not serious about it, then we can just pretend it never happened.”_

_She pretty much doubted that she would be able to forget it, but what other options did she have? Jaime had set his mind on this and if he was determined to do something, he would do it._

_Brienne nodded shortly, and Jaime showed her one of those smiles that could power a whole city for a night. Of course it made her blush. Very pleased with himself, he took his cup of coffee again and took a sip of the almost-cold drink._

**********

A cushion hit Brienne in the face. “Stop worrying,” Margaery said from behind her screen. She didn't even look up, instead continuing her search. “You're overthinking it.”

“I am not,” Brienne said, but she knew it was a lie. Margaery just snorted. “And can you please stop looking up dates? It's making me nervous.”

“You're making yourself nervous.”

“That doesn't even make sense.”

“Sure it does. Oh look, going stargazing! That's romantic.” It was romantic, and Brienne knew it was actually something she and Jaime would both enjoy. 

Back in the Riverlands, where the stars seemed to be so much brighter, he had told her that he knew some constellations. Apparently Tyrion had been obsessed with the space, planets and stars, and Jaime had listened to his ramblings since no one else had. He even convinced his father to buy Tyrion a telescope for his nameday. Some of that knowledge was stuck in his brain. It wasn't like Brienne knew nothing about stars. Growing up on an island, her father had taken her out on a boat often enough, even for some overnight trips, and taught her to use the stars to navigate. Not that she would actually ever need to do that, but it was fun to learn. 

But it didn't matter that they would both enjoy it. Stargazing wasn't an option. 

“It's too early for that,” Brienne said. It wouldn't be dark before half past nine, and Jaime told he would pick her up at three. They still had about twenty minutes left. 

“Maybe he planned a couple of things. You could do it later.” 

“It won't be that long.” 

“And how would you know that?” This time Margaery did look up. Brienne just shrugged because she didn't want to admit that she still thought it had be some kind of joke. But her best friend seemed to know what was going on in her head. Or maybe she really was as easy to read as Jaime always told her. “Brienne, sweety, if a guy asks you out, it usually means that he likes you.”

“Or it could be a joke.”

“But Jaime isn't one to pull that kind of joke. You know he wouldn't. So, obviously, the only option is that he likes you. And this is the end of this stupid discussion, you're killing the mood.” Brienne just rolled her eyes. “What about baking together?”

_“Jaime, let me do it.”_

_“I am fully capable of doing that, Giant.”_

_“You need two hands to do that.”_

_“I_ have _two hands.”_

_“Just let me do it. You will do something wrong.”_

_“I will not do- … Oops. That shouldn't happen”_

_“Lannister …”_

_“You know how I can tell you're really angry? You haven't called me Lannister in ages.”_

_“I am going to kill you.”_

_“Now that would put a shadow over this lovely day, wouldn't it?”_

_“Look at my clothes!”_

_“You just need to clean them, and they will be as good as new. Best thing would be to do it right now. I can take them off for you.”_

“Total disaster,” she said, and stopped her imagination before it could go any further. She wasn't sure if she could deal with that while Margaery was in the room. This time she didn't seem to pay attention though. 

“I can't wait to plan your wedding,” she muttered with a grin on her face. “There are so many great ideas.”

“There won't be a wedding. And you should really stop spending so much time on that website. It can't be good for you.”

“I'll ask you about the wedding again tomorrow. And don't act like you hated every idea. I know that you liked some.”

Yes, there had been some that did sound like a lot of fun. Mostly those that Margaery thought were not suitable for a first date. Laser tag, paint ball and going to a shooting range sounded great, but Brienne doubt that Jaime would do it while he still had troubles with his hand. Her best friend had rolled her eyes and muttered _like children_ at that. Watching a movie – preferably the new action movie _Mother Of Dragons_ – or going to the museum to have a look at the Dothraki Weaponry Exhibition were _too ordinary_ in Margaery's eyes, even though Brienne disagreed. Before she looked things up on Pinterest, Margaery did a quick search about current events in King's Landing. There was a Monster Truck Show and even Greek Wrestling – though Brienne wasn't sure if Jaime was really into that – those were definitely not _too ordinary_ in Brienne's eyes, but Margaery didn't even give her a chance to say anything about it and quickly closed the window. Going to an amusement park didn't sound too bad either, especially because the one near King's Landing was known to have some really good roller coasters, but Margaery just shook her head, and moved on to Pinterest. 

“Dancing lessons?” she asked. “Maybe Salsa or Tango. That's always enjoyable with the right partner.”

“No,” Brienne said without missing a beat. She had two left feet when it came to dancing, and they would look funny because she was taller than him.

“Going to see a play?”

“And contrary to see a movie that's not too ordinary?” Margaery chose not to listen. 

“Mountain biking?”

“Could be fun,” she said. That didn't sound too bad, but there were no good paths around King's Landing. At least none she knew.

“Karaoke?”

“We already did that.”

“You never told me!” Shocked Margaery looked at her best friend, who couldn't see why it was such a big deal. “When?”

“A couple of weeks ago.” It had been a quite embarrassing evening. Again they somehow ended up drinking together and after her third beer Jaime had persuaded her into going to a karaoke bar because it would be so much fun. Brienne had no talent for singing at all, and she knew that. Despite knowing better, she agreed. In the end Jaime had coaxed her into singing three songs by herself – he sang five, and even though he didn't hit a single note, he got a lot of applause – and they sang two duets. It had been fun, but nevertheless embarrassing, and Brienne had no desire to repeat it any time soon. 

“Game night?” Margaery asked after she finished pouting. 

“Did that as well. Even worse than karaoke.” Both of them were way too competitive for things like that. They started to scream at each other, both absolutely sure the other one was cheating. 

“I don't know, this sounds pretty interesting. It's Twister.” Margaery smirked, but Brienne couldn't see what was so funny about Twister. 

“It wouldn't be the best idea. Especially not with his hand.” 

“Oh, I'm sure Jaime would be thrilled to play this version of Twister with you.” Her smirk grew and Brienne started to feel uneasy. It was never good if Margaery smirked like that. “It's Naked Twister.”

Before Brienne could even make an attempt to block any kind of images out of her brain, her head was filled with them. How they played it, and where it could end … If she thought she had blushed badly before, it was nothing compared with the blush she had right now. Every cell of her body was on fire, and her brain had shut down completely. She just couldn't stop thinking about it. Margaery laughed, obviously happy that she could embarrass her friend. 

Luckily the doorbell rang, and Brienne jumped from her seat to open the door, gladly to have an excuse to get away from Margaery and the idea of Naked Twister. 

In her rush – or shock –, she completely forgot to check the time or even remember the reason why they looked up all those ridiculous ideas. Clueless, she opened the door, and stared right into Jaime's handsome face. The Naked Twister images floated her in front of her face, and if it was possible for her to turn even redder, she did. 

Jaime's gaze traveled up and down her body to inspect her outfit, and he nodded. “That'll do. Are you ready?” 

Brienne couldn't answer him. What would happen if Jaime knew about Naked Twister? She wasn't sure if she would survive that game. However she wasn't even sure if she would mind playing it at all. But only if it was with him. 

“Are you okay?” Jaime asked as Brienne didn't say anything. Quickly she shook her head to snap out of her shock. 

“What?”

“Don't worry, she's fine,” Margaery said, and appeared behind her in the hallway. “She's just a bit nervous.” Brienne felt how Margaery put a small bag into her hand, and shoved her out of her own apartment. “Have fun you two!”

Jaime took Brienne's elbow and let her to his car, but Brienne turned around one last time. Margaery was still standing in the door, smirking and waving, and Brienne swore she mouthed with words _Naked Twister_ before she closed the door. 

No turning back now.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaime and Brienne have their date.

Still in shock, Brienne only half noticed how Jaime led her to his car and opened the door for her. When she didn't get in, his raised one eyebrow again. “Is something wrong?”

“N-No,” she stuttered, hoping that the fresh air would cool down her red face. It did not. 

He kept looking at her, and she just stared back. 

“So … do you want to get in the car, or will I have to wrestle you into the seat?” This time, she did not reply and hurried to get into the car. Jaime laughed quietly before closing the door. 

Just as Brienne buckled up, she noticed several things. It wasn't his Valyrian, but a big Range Rover – not that this car was any less fancy or expensive. When she had first found out that he had not one but two overly expensive cars she just rolled her eyes, and told him how spoiled he was. The other thing she noticed was that Jaime was driving. Somehow they got to the silent agreement that she would drive whenever they were in the same car. It was safer and less complicated for Jaime. 

“Shouldn't I drive?” she asked as Jaime slumped down gracefully – Brienne didn't even know that someone could slump gracefully, but if there was one person who could do that, it was him – into the drivers seat. 

“It's not like I can't drive, Giant,” he said with a little smirk before starting the car. 

“But -”

“It would ruin the surprise.” Before she could even answer, he started to drive and almost blew a red light. Like usual. 

“For a cop, you drive pretty risky.”

“And you drive like an old lady. It would take us _days_ to get there.” 

Brienne decided to stay silent. You weren't suppose to fight with your date, were you? But then again it wasn't just any date, it was Jaime. Everything that dealt with him was something other than what it was suppose to be. Nervously she started to fiddle with the hem of her shirt.

“You look nice,” Jaime suddenly said. Somewhat shocked, Brienne looked over to him, and he offered her a little smile. “The shirt matches your eyes.” She remembered that he didn't like the hairstyle on her last date, because it hid her eyes. He would always drop comments like that, but she couldn't quite understand it. Jaime seemed to be obsessed with her eyes, though for her they were just blue, nothing like his shining green ones. 

“Where are we going?” Brienne asked as she remembered what Margaery had said. He had told her that she should wear something comfortable. Jaime was wearing his usual leather jacket, a plain shirt and jeans. Nothing special, but it still looked way too good on him. 

“I'm not telling you,” he said smiling. “That's the point of a surprise.”

“You said I should dress comfortably.”

“I told Margaery that so she wouldn't force you in something you weren't comfortable in. I've seen what she does to you when no one stops her. And even though you have the best legs on earth, you shouldn't wear every dress she hands you.”

Just as her face color had returned to something somewhat normal, he had to say something like that. Brienne wasn't even sure if it was a compliment or an insult, but she blushed nevertheless. Determined to not let Jaime see how confused she was about his comment, she looked out of the window. Jaime had turned down a road that led out of the city. It wouldn't be the museum then. That only left a dozen other choices. 

“Are you going to be like that for the whole day?” Brienne wasn't surprised because of his words, but because of his voice. Was that annoyance or nervousness? Out of the corners of her eyes she looked at him, but didn't turn her head. 

“Like what?”

“All weird and silent.” He glanced at her quickly, before he had to concentrate on the road again. 

“I don't know what you mean.” And that was the truth. She was always weird and awkward, and most of the time she didn't talk much. Not like Jaime who could talk for an hour without taking one breath. “I'm acting normal.”

“Well, I thought I would go on a date with the Brienne I knew and not with someone else.” Brienne couldn't help but flinch slightly at the word _date_ , and, of course, Jaime noticed. His smile turned forced, which was rare. “Ah, there we have the reason. Tell me, is it just the concept of the date that scares you, or is it having a date with me?”

“I don't know.” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. After all, it wasn't wrong; until now all of her dates had been miserable and a date with Jaime just seemed so unreal. 

Unlike usual, Jaime stayed silent for a long time. A reasonably long time by his standards, which wasn't really that long at all. “Don't do this to do me any favors. If you don't want to spend time with me, then say it.”

Brienne took a moment to look at Jaime. He was paying a lot of attention to an almost empty street. His knuckles on the steering wheel were white and his jaw was set. In this moment, she couldn't really tell if he was angry or nervous. 

“You told me to give you a chance,” she finally said. “So I'm giving you one.”

“If you don't want to -”

“If I didn't want to, I would have told you from the start. You know that.” She didn't mentioned that she barely had slept the night before. Or the night before that. 

Slowly Jaime started to relax again and flashed her a wide grin. “So it's just my usual charm that turns you into a nervous little girl?”

“Oh, shut up,” Brienne said, again fighting against the red flush. “I'm not nervous.”

“Right. And I have green hair.”

“You're acting like a little boy again.”

“Only if you're my babysitter.” Jaime winked at her, and she rolled her eyes, though she couldn't hide her smile. That was the Jaime she knew and was comfortable around. And that was also the Jaime she could vaguely picture having a date with without it ending horribly. No, wait, knowing his childish behavior it could still end horribly. 

They drove for a few minutes in comfortable silence. More and more trees appeared along the sidewalk, and the buildings started to look more like _suburb_ than _city_. Brienne still couldn't see any hint of where they're going, but there was a another question on her mind anyway. 

“Can I ask you something?” she asked, before she could think twice about it. Like Margaery said, she was overthinking. 

“Yes, you can kiss me anywhere and anytime you like. Does that answer your question?”

Brienne couldn't even see his smile, in her mind the images of naked Twister popped up again. Damn Margaery for mentioning that. 

“T-That's not what I meant!”

“No? Well … No, I still won't tell you where we're going.”

“I wanted to ask,” Brienne said, ignoring what he said. “why you asked me out for a date. I mean, why directly after I went out with Hyle?”

Jaime took a deep breath, but this time it wasn't because he was angry. He seemed nervous, almost embarrassed. It was a rare sight, and if she was more witty and less tactful, she would probably make a joke about it. Jaime would have done that. But she wasn't him, and she knew the feeling too well. 

“I thought I had more time,” Jaime finally said. “Because I knew that if I would have asked you right away, you would get awkward and probably never talk to me again. And say no, of course. So I wanted to take it slow, make it subtle. Let you get used to the idea that I was part of your life. That we were friends, maybe even more than friends, and that I wouldn't want to hurt or make fun of you. I think it was actually going pretty well.”

“How was it going well?” Brienne interrupted him. “You still insult me in pretty much every conversation we have. And you make fun of me.”

“Well, but you can't deny that I am a big part of your life now, can you?” He quickly glanced at her to confirm his suspicions. Her first instinct was to deny it, but she couldn't. They saw each other almost every day, he had quickly become her best friend, and she trusted him like she wouldn't trust Margaery. Surprised by those thoughts, Brienne tried to think back to the exact point when he started to play such a big role in her life, but she couldn't point it out. Ever since she had moved to King's Landing, he seemed to be there. 

“Anyways,” Jaime said, and brought her back to reality. “As you now see, everything was going according to my plan, until you came to work in a bad mood because your father set up a blind date for you. Suddenly I realized that I maybe didn't have the time to take it slow. There were others courting you.”

“Nobody courted me. And I told you that I didn't want to go.”

“But you did go, even though you didn't want to. I couldn't stop thinking what would happen if you forgave him. Then I decided I couldn't let that happen, so I stopped by the restaurant.” 

“You said it was because of Loras' call.”

“We both know that I could have simply called you after he called me and then picked you up.” 

That was one of the things Brienne had been thinking about ever since he had appeared at the restaurant. He had had absolutely no reason at all to be there. A simple call would have done it. Instead he had been there, _waiting_ as he had said back then. More like _manipulating_ she realized, now that she thought about it. 

“When did you start your plan?” If she started this conversation, she should do it properly. Better to ask every question now instead of bringing this up again later. 

“Is this an interrogation?” He asked, but before Brienne could defend herself, Jaime just winked at her and shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. “A while back. Actually I'm not quite sure when it started precisely.” He glanced briefly at her again as if that would give him the answer. “Didn't really plan it. It kind of just happened. Sometime after I told you about Aerys, I think.” Brienne wasn't sure what to say. Never before had either one of them mentioned their conversation – or his confession – about Aerys. For a moment, Jaime seemed tense, but then he was back to his usual self before she could respond in any way. “It was definitely there when we were back in King's Landing, and you were helping me getting used to ... my new circumstances.”

A thousand questions were in Brienne's head. How did he know it? Was he shocked or happy? Had he tried to deny it? Did he talk to Tyrion or someone else about it? Did he think she was stupid for not noticing his intentions? But she didn't ask any of those questions – either out of shame, fear or just because she couldn't decide. She stayed silent, lost in her own thoughts. 

She snapped out of them when the car stopped suddenly. The city and even the suburbs seemed far away, instead they were surrounded by trees and parked on a little, bare field. There were a couple of other cars as well. That must be the reason why he chose the Range Rover. His sports car wasn't made for this. For a second Brienne wondered how long exactly she had zoned out, but a quick glance at the clock told her that it hadn't been more than a few minutes. 

“Almost there,” Jaime said and smirked as he unbuckled himself. “We have to walk the rest of the way.”

“Where are we?” Brienne asked as she followed Jaime out of his car. He seemed a bit grumpy that she hadn't waited for him to open her door, but if he thought she would actually let him do that, then he didn't knew her that well at all. 

“Just outside King's Landing. It won't take long.” For a short, awkward moment they just stood next to each other, not sure if they should hold hands or anything. That's a thing couples do on dates, isn't it? Just as she was about to reach for his hand, Jaime turned around and walked down the little parking lot. Brienne felt somewhat disappointed, but didn't say anything. “This way.”

They walked in silence, not really awkward, but not comfortable either. It would definitely have been awkward if they were walking for more than five minutes, but luckily they weren't. When they arrived at a small path which led from the parking lot into the woods, Brienne heard some noises. At first she couldn't name them, but the closer they got, the more easily could she place them. Definitely a lot of voices, some metal-clanging, drums, and did she just hear a horse? 

Questioning, she looked at Jaime, but he grinned a cheeky smile. “You'll see it in a minute.”

And she did. 

As the trees parted, they arrived at a meadow, and it looked like they'd stepped right into the Targaeryen era. Bright, colorful tents were set up, as well as some wooden cabins, and there was a jousting area, stables with horses – even a little paddock –, several blacksmiths, banners, swords, people in costumes and so much more. Brienne couldn't even decide where to look first. It was bigger than any fair she has seen before. 

“What is that?” she asked, and her eyes darted from one thing to another. A man in a costume – she wasn't sure what exactly he was supposed to be because he wasn't wearing any armor, a stupid hat or anything else that would give away his identity – demonstrated some pretty impressive sword moves. A crowd gathered around him.

“It's an Old Days Fair,” Jaime answered, and put his hand lightly on her back to push her forward. “Surely you know what that is.”

“Of course I know what that is.” She sounded sharper than she intended to, but his easy smile told her that he wasn't angry. He knew how much she loved history. “I mean, who are they? Margaery looked up every event in King's Landing, and she didn't mentioned any fairs.”

“Probably because, technically, this isn't _in_ King's Landing.” Brienne rolled her eyes, but didn't interrupt him. “This fair is pretty old. They were in Lannisport when I was a child, once every year, and I went there as often as I could. At some point they decided that it got too crowded, I think, so they cut down as many advertisements as they could, and became an insider-tip. Actually, it was a coincidence that I found them here.” 

She noticed that Jaime sounded as excited as she felt. Ages ago – she couldn't have been older than ten – there had been an Old Days Fair on Tarth for only a couple of days. On those days Brienne had spent almost every minute there. Her father's girlfriend, now ex-girlfriend, had gone with her quite often. She had liked that woman, but now she couldn't even remember her name or why they had broken up. 

“Is it okay for you?” Jaime asked, and he sounded a bit nervous. They had almost arrived at the first cabins, and the smell of horse was getting stronger. It calmed her down. “I thought you would enjoy it, because you said -”

“I like it,” she interrupted, which was quite unusual for her. “I haven't been to one of these in a long time.”

“Well, you'll love this one,” he said, and sounded much more confident now. The pressure of his hand on her back got stronger. “And we can have a look around before the show starts.”

“What show?”

“You'll see.” 

They strolled through the different cabins, walking past some blacksmiths, someone who sold wooden weapons for children, several food cabins, and a woman who sold some costumes. It all looked very authentic, and Brienne couldn't wait to see everything, but she was really curious about the man who had demonstrated the sword moves. Luckily Jaime seemed to have the same idea, because even though he didn't rush her, they slowly got closer and closer to the man. As they arrived at his little show area, he was fighting another costumed man. Both of them obviously knew what they were doing, and Brienne couldn't say if one of them was just better than the other or if it was a choreographed fight. In the end, the older man won, and helped the younger one – she liked to think that he was a squire – up. Then they both bowed to the crowd as everyone exploded in applause. 

“My thanks, lords and ladies,” he shouted over the noises. “After enjoying our fight, is there anyone who might want to try himself? Do not fear, we do our best to help you. You shall not embarrass yourself. Any lord? Or maybe a lady?” 

The man looked around patiently, while everyone started to whisper, trying to get a friend to volunteer or making some excuses. Brienne was focused on the two tournament swords the squire carried, so she only realized what Jaime was up to when it was too late. He had already grabbed her hand, and shoved everyone out of his way with the boldness only Lannisters had. 

“Jaime!” she whispered, but it was too late. 

“We would like to try it!” he said loudly. The man turned to look at them, and to Brienne's relief he didn't grimace when he saw her, but grinned instead. However, she could feel everyone else's eyes on her and her cheeks burnt. 

“Splendid! A round of applause for this fine lord and his lady!” Slowly everyone started to clap, not as enthusiastic as before, though. 

“What are you doing?” Brienne whispered again, as the man talked to the squire about which sword to choose. Jaime was watching them curiously. 

“C'mon, it'll be fun,” he said lightheartedly. “I've always wanted to sword fight.”

“You don't even know how to do it.”

“And neither do you. But you can't deny that you would like to try it, can you? Besides, they said they would help us.”

No, she couldn't deny it. Ever since she heard the first song about knights and swords, she had wanted to try it. But nowadays it was as impossible to learn how to sword fight as it was for women to learn to wield a sword in the Old Days. Even though Brienne tried to be angry at Jaime for putting her in a spot where everyone would be watching her, she was really excited as the two men came back with the swords. 

They got some brief instructions about how to hold the swords – Jaime had it in his left hand, since he still wasn't supposed to use his right hand too much – and Brienne really liked the feeling of the piece of steel in her hand. Next they showed them some basic moves, and after a few tries, she got a feeling for it. It wasn't that different from the pretend-sword from her childhood which had been just an old branch, and even though Jaime's movements weren't as graceful as they once were, he hadn't dropped the sword yet. The longer she had the sword in her hands, the more excited and confident she got.

“My lady, are you ready?” the older man asked her, and Brienne nodded. Out of the corners of her eyes she still saw the crowd, but she realized that she wasn't that bothered anymore. They couldn't do it any better, so why should she be nervous?

“My lord, are you ready, too?” Jaime nodded as well. “Then fight!” 

Brienne breathed in and out, her eyes fixed on Jaime, and a strange calm spread over her. It was just her and him. Nothing else mattered. Just him and her having fun. Before she knew what she was doing, she was smiling. Jaime didn't miss it. For half a second, he looked surprised, but then he was grinning from ear to ear, and did an old-fashioned bow. “Can I have this dance, my lady?”

As if on cue, they both jumped forward and their sword collided clumsily. For a second they just stood there, pressing the swords against each other and trying to get the upper hand. Brienne felt him struggle, obviously still not used to doing everything left-handed, but before she could knock the sword out of his hands, he jumped backwards, looking for another opening. 

She took a deep breath and steadied her grip on the sword. Jaime smirked, then he moved again and Brienne reacted. Their swords collided, they tried to knock the other's swords out of their hands, circling each other, and forgetting everything around them. The cheers and shouts became an unrecognizable background noises. For once she didn't feel like someone _too tall, too big_ or _too strong_ – it just felt right. It felt even better that she could see real joy in Jaime's eyes, even though he was handicapped. It was a sight she had missed without really noticing it. 

It was impossible to say how long they fought. It felt like an eternity and nothing at all at the same time. They met and parted again, steel kissing steel, and lost in the fight. In the end, Brienne couldn't say how she even did that last move. All she remembered was that she had twirled around, her sword had crashed against his, and suddenly Jaime's sword lay in the grass. Both of them stared at it, not sure if he should pick it up to continue fighting or not. 

The audience decided for them. They exploded in applause and cheers, all congratulating her at once. Brienne had to blink. She couldn't remember when the last time was that so many people were genuinely happy for her. She blinked again. Were there this many people when they got here?

“M'lady wins!” the man announced and did an old fashioned bow in front of her. His squire picked up Jaime's sword and bowed as well, just as the audience cheered even louder, if that was possible. Brienne's face started to burn, and her eyes shot to Jaime. 

He was smiling. Not smirking or grinning, and it wasn't one of those arrogant or sarcastic smiles. It was smaller and warmer. It made her skin burn even more. As he noticed, he winked and did a mocking curtsy. 

The man took the sword out of her hand – she was just a little bit sad that she had to give it back – and congratulated her again, before turning back to the crowd. Not a second later, Jaime was at her side, and navigated her through the people , who had already forgotten them and were focused on the next performance. 

“That was fun,” he said as soon as they were somewhat alone again. 

“It actually was. Thanks.”

“Don't mention it. Even though you cheated to beat me.”

“I did not cheat!” Shocked that he would even think that of her, Brienne glared at Jaime. She missed his joking mockery. 

“Really? How else could you win?”

“Did you lose on purpose?” A wave of rage descended on her. Oh, he would be dead if he had. She didn't need any favors, she was good enough to beat him fair and square. Which she, of course, had. 

“Do I look like someone who would lose on purpose?” he asked, dead serious, just as she was ready to demand a re-match to beat him again. 

Suddenly Brienne's chest felt too tight. She shouldn't have won. After all she was still on a date with Jaime, it didn't matter how absurd the thought actually was. And you weren't suppose to be better than your date, were you? Men liked to show off and prove how good they were. Also their egos were damaged pretty quickly – and Jaime had the biggest ego she knew. This was even worse than him losing on purpose. Gods, she had ruined their date!

“Gods, you really can't take a joke, can you?” Jaime shook his head and laughed quietly. “Why am I even surprised anymore? It was a joke, Giant. Of course I didn't lose on purpose.”

“Then why would you say something like that?”

“Because I'm a terrible loser. But, hey, it wouldn't be fair if I was rich, sexy, intelligent, and a good loser, right?”

“Luckily you're a jackass as well, so you don't have to worry about being too perfect.” Before she could stop the words, they were out of her mouth, and her eyes turned into big tennis balls. Did she really just say that? However, Jaime just blinked and then started to laugh so loudly that the older woman next to them turned around to find out what exactly was so funny. Brienne blushed and avoided all eye contact. 

“We should do more sword fighting if it makes you actually say your thoughts out loud.” Brienne felt stupidly relieved that he wasn't mad at her. Something behind her caught his attention. “C'mon, we have to move, or we might miss the reason I brought you here.” His hand was back at the small of her back as he led her down a grassy path. This time she was much more comfortable with his touch. 

Jaime led them to the jousting area where quite a lot of people were already gathered. Quickly. he went over to the stands, and sat down on one of the wooden benches before pulling her down next to him. Brienne scanned the area. Different flags, sigils and ribbons in all colors decorated the columns and barriers which separated the audience from the large, sandy field in the middle. Behind the stands, she could see some horses and knights, all wearing different coats of arms, and getting ready for the show. 

“What exactly is this show about?” she asked while more and more people filled the benches. A few kids stood right behind the barriers, waving little flags, wearing helmets and wielding wooden swords. “Or is it still a secret?”

“It's the story of the Golden Knight and the Lady-Knight,” Jaime answered. “I'm not sure if they made it up or if there really was a pair of knights like them, but they had the show even when I was a child. It was my favorite of all their attractions.” Brienne hadn't heard the names before, but even though she knew a lot of stories and songs, she didn't know all of them. 

Not long after, the show began. The Golden Knight was the most talented and loved knight in the kingdom, undefeated, and many ladies lay at his feet, but he chose his knightly duties instead of marrying a lady to become a lord. The Lady-Knight was a highborn lady, but instead of singing songs and knitting, she preferred to wield a sword and ride on the back of a horse. Of course she was forbidden to enter a tournament, so she dressed as a man and cut her hair to enter as the Blue Knight. She beat all her opponents, and in the finale she beat the Golden Knight. Soon after the tournament, they were both sent to defeat a terrible monster that terrorized the woods – after all they were both the best knights – and one night the Golden Knight found out that the Blue Knight was a woman. From there on, they started to banter about everything. The Golden Knight wanted to protect her, while she insisted that she was fine on her own. At some point they realized that they were better when they worked together instead of fighting against each other, and – of course – started to fall in love. They beat the monster and return to the capital, where they had a heartbreaking parting scene, before the Golden Knight runs after her and asks her to marry him. They marry and travel around the kingdom to fight monsters. 

Brienne absolutely loved the show. The actors were good and the fighting so realistic and well choreographed that it was way too easy to forget everything but the show. Every fighting scene, she sat on the edge of the bench, and had to force herself to not stand up and cheer loudly. She even had to hold back a few tears at their parting. At the end, she was one of the first ones to jump to her feet and applaud loudly for them. Out of the corners of her eyes, she saw Jaime joining in just as quickly. 

“So, I guess you liked it,” Jaime said as everyone left the jousting area, but they didn't. To be honest, Brienne still felt so overwhelmed that she wasn't sure if she could move any time soon. 

“I loved it! Everything was just so good and the story and the costumes and just … everything!” Desperately she searched for the words to describe all her feelings, but couldn't find them. It turned out she didn't need to find them, because Jaime knew exactly what she meant. 

“I didn't take you for such a romantic,” he laughed. 

Yes, Brienne was a romantic. Always had been, and always would be, even though she knew it was stupid. She and Sansa had spend many nights having marathons of their favorite sickly romantic shows. Margaery never managed to join them, mostly because it was all way too romantic for her. 

“Well, you liked it too, so you have to be a romantic as well,” she said boldly. She didn't know where the courage came from, but she didn't care as she saw him blush. It wasn't like one of her blushes with red spots all over the face, but just a light, pink shadow over his perfect cheekbones. 

“I just like it because of the fighting,” he said quickly, and Brienne knew he was lying. But before she could call him out for it, he continued to speak. “Enough of that. Would you rather go home or spend some more time looking around?”

Wasn't the answer obvious? 

**********

They somehow managed to spend the whole day at the fair. 

After the show, they started to really _look around_. Which turned into stopping at every cabin, doing every activity, tasting the food, and watching all the shows. The only thing they agreed to not do was getting their faces painted. 

Instead they visited the forges and watched how the blacksmith made a sharp, shining dagger; Brienne also had to get Jaime away from the little shop next to it, before he could get out his _Lannister Bank Credit Card_ and buy the most expensive – but undeniable most beautiful – sword she had ever seen. Twice he tried to buy her an old-fashioned bracelet with real sapphires, once he wanted to buy her a dagger, and then he almost sneaked off to buy the sword. She caught him before he got out of her sight. 

Even though she managed to keep Jaime from buying something that was worth her monthly rent, she couldn't keep him from buying anything at all. If she did, he just argued that he invited her on a date and, therefore, was suppose to pay. It was a good argument. Mostly because she would turn scarlet and could only stutter a few weak excuses. So he brought every kind of food and drink they passed – by the end of the day, she was so stuffed that she thought she could never eat anything again –, matching key chains with little swords for them, and an beautifully illustrated books of old songs for her because she couldn't keep her eyes off of it. There were a couple of other shows, too. A jousting tournament without a real story but a lot of action, a juggler, some musicians, dancers, magicians, a puppet theater for the kids, and so on and so on. It didn't matter where they turned to, there was always something to look at. 

At one point, and Brienne wasn't exactly sure when it had happened, Jaime had taken her hand and hadn't let go of her since then. Honestly, it had scared her at first. Her doubts started to fill her head, sounding like her old nanny, Red Ronnet, Hyle and everyone else who had ever told her she was too ugly, too manly, too big to be desired. But Jaime's strong, warm hand wasn't letting go of her. It was calming, and soon it felt so natural to her that she wondered why they had never held hands before. A couple of times she caught him staring – she had been staring as well, but luckily he never noticed – and it had made her blush. Instead of mocking her about it, he had just smiled, squeezed her hand, and led her to the next cabin. 

As they walked back to his car, it was pitch black outside, with only the millions of stars and a moon painting the deep blue sky. They weren't really walking, it was more like strolling. Neither of them wanted to leave the fair. On the one hand, they had so much fun that they simply didn't want it to end. And on the other hand, leaving the fair would mean that their date would end as well. The thought made Brienne sadder than she could have guessed. 

“Did you have fun?” he asked into the silence. 

“Yes, a lot. Thank you.” 

“I still should have bought that sword,” Jaime said in a playful tone. They had just arrived at the car park and his car was one of the last there. “It would have looked great on my bedroom wall.” 

“I wouldn't be so sure about it,” Brienne just replied. 

“How would you know? You haven't seen my bedroom,” he said, sounding offended, before he added, “At least not yet.” 

There was a hint of a seducing undertone, but Brienne wasn't sure if he was serious or not. Maybe he hadn't even noticed it, after all he had been teasing her for months. Maybe it was something like an automatic reaction. Suddenly she had a big lump in her throat, her body was too hot and too cold at once – even though she was completely sure that she was blushing again –, and she just wanted to run away and hide under her blanket until she knew how she wanted to react. But Jaime didn't leave her enough time for that option. He stopped, only a few feet away from his car, and looked at her seriously. The lump grew, and she had to swallow a couple of times before she could answer, “Jaime, I … I mean … I'm not sure, if -”

“It was a joke,” he said as she couldn't find the right words. However, he didn't sound as natural as usual. Then he shrugged. “Well, only if you want to?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that this date will end where you want it. I respect your borders and will not try to force you to anything you don't want to do. Just …” He took a deep breath, and it was the first time that Brienne saw _the_ Jaime Lannister struggling with words. “Just … do you believe me that I'm serious?”

She would have liked to say that she thought about it a lot. That she reviewed his actions, his manners, his behavior, and everything else, but the truth was, she did not. She just had a feeling that she did believe him. It didn't matter how absurd the thought that he liked her was. She believed him, and in this moment, that was all that mattered. 

So Brienne nodded. 

Jaime's tense shoulders relaxed at once, he muttered something under his breath that she couldn't catch, because a second later he had let go of her hand, just to put it on her cheek and his lips on hers. It had been a long time since a man had kissed her. In fact, it had been Hyle all those years ago. If you could get out of practice, she definitely was. But Jaime didn't seem to mind. He was quite eager to kiss her, even though she was too shocked to respond immediately. As she finally gave in to his touch and kissed him back, he pulled her so close that their chests were pressed against each other. 

They broke the kiss to breathe, but Jaime didn't let go of her. Instead, he leaned his forehead against hers and stared into her eyes. Brienne knew that she was blushing. She knew that anyone could come out of the forest and see them. She knew that it was so typical cliché that they stood under the stars and moons, and stared love-struck at one another. She knew that neither Margaery nor Sansa would let her hear the end of this – and she had no doubt that they would both get her to tell every little detail. 

Despite all of that, Brienne didn't care. For once she was not overthinking, but listening to her feelings. And her feelings told her that she didn't want this to end. Jaime had said that she had full control over when the date would end. Who knows, maybe she would take his offer to see his bedroom, and maybe she would not. She would think about it later. 

“You know,” she whispered boldly, staring right into those jade, warm eyes, “we never had the coffee you actually asked me out for. And I fear that all the coffee shops are closed now.” 

A big, lion like grin spread on Jaime's face, and he kissed her one more time, soft and sweet, before he took her hand again to lead her to his car. “Well, luckily I have a coffee machine that makes excellent coffee. And you even know how to use it.”

“Sounds perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it!  
> A big thank you to [josiepug](http://archiveofourown.org/users/josiepug/pseuds/josiepug) who was my wonderful beta again!  
> [Photoset](http://jen27ny.tumblr.com/post/115108234687/how-to-go-on-a-date-lannister-edition-chapter-2)  
> And I guess thanks to my brother who wouldn't shut up about medieval fairs.


End file.
